? Advice please as Stumpy's BGL don't seem to be changing much

S

Stumpy's carer

Member Since 2025
Over the past couple of weeks we have hit patches where Stumpy's BGL initially go down into the blue zone for a few days and then the amplitude of the drops seem to diminish and he in largely in pink and yellow. The first time it happened I got new insulin and immediately after I started using it, he was going back into the blue zone after the insulin shots. This lasted for a few days, but now he is back to being either side of 300 (pink/yellow). Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong? I'm going to try and get more insulin tomorrow, but if its the insulin how am I ruining it? Its kept in the fridge except for when I draw it up. or is it just Stumpy? I'm finding this very frustrating and upsetting. He is on wet food, mainly fancy feast pate, and for treats Young Again kibble, which thankfully he loves.
 
We are feeding wet food, mainly fancy feast pate, fish varieties and chicken since he is allergic to beef. He also gets some Feline natural chicken and chicken and salmon. We are giving him Young again zero for treats. Yes, he is tested for ketones, on a daily basis and has always been negative.
 
Kay --
I suspect that the issue here is that at least from your signature and spreadsheet information, you're not following either of the dosing methods we suggest. As a result, you're holding on to Stumpy's dose for too long. For example, it looks like you've been on the 3.75u dose since Jan 23rd. The Start Low Go Slow (SLGS) dosing method allows you to hold a dose longer than with Tight Regulation (TR). Even with SLGS, you review the dose after a week. If the insulin dose isn't bringing your cat into closer to normal blood glucose range, then your cat needs a dose increase. If you hold a dose that's not terribly effective, your cat's body begins to treat higher numbers as the new "normal". Also, you've been managing Stumpy's diabetes for enough time that you can consider shooting lower numbers. I would not drop the dose back with a pre-shot value that's in the neighborhood of 150 -160 or at least not cut the dose as much as you've been doing.

The information on dosing methods is in this sticky note on the Lantus board. You may also want to consider posting on the Lantus board. There are lots of members there who can provide pretty much 24/7 coaching.
 
Thanks very much for the information. If we did a lower dose because he had a lower than expected value, then I started the 7day count again. From what you are saying you shouldn't do that you just continue counting from the first dose, is that correct?
 
If you make a dose adjustment due to a lower than expected pre-shot, you generally re-start the shot count -- or that's the case with TR. The last time you dropped the dose, was after a week at the 3.75u dose so it may have been a judgement call. With a pre-shot of 167 given that Stumpy was diagnosed in July, you really could have shot the full dose or not lowered the dose to 1.0u. That's a large amount to reduce.
 
Thanks, for the advice, we are being too conservative due to my fear of a hypo. Clearly that is not really helping him, or the best thing for him. We'll try and keep at the same dose or only slightly reduce if he does a big dip, and monitor even more closely (often that is visual checks during the night).
 
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